Can you use a Sky + box just for Sky Freesat?

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Can you use a Sky + box just for Sky Freesat?

12 posts & 7 voices | Started 1 year ago by danti | Latest reply from datsunman

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danti - Member

Have had a normal (old style) Sky box for receiving Freesat for approx 3 years and was wondering if its possible to use a Sky+ box with its hard-disk for recording without having to pay any subscription to Sky?

I'm in a poor reception area for Freeview hence Freesat.
I appreciate I'd have to buy the Sky+ box initially but am not prepared to get a sub from Sky as I don't watch enough TV to justify it.

The reason I'm thinking a Sky+ box is for the hard disk recording, I've been using a separate DVD/Hard disk recorder which is temperamental and if I could record things just by setting them up using 1 remote that would be good.

Cheers

Posted 1 year ago #
Harry_the_Spider - Member

IIRC it won't record.

Posted 1 year ago #
mastiles_fanylion - Member

No - you need a subscription with Sky for it to work.

Posted 1 year ago #
danti - Member

Oh well back to the drawing board then.

Cheers Guys

Posted 1 year ago #
simon_g - Member

The others are correct - without a Sky subscription it reverts to being a plain non-recording Sky box. Used to be a separate sub but these days it's effectively free if you're already a subscriber for other things.

You can get freesat recorders though - Sagem and Humax do them. This one is just under £200 at argos right now:

http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Sagem-DTR94250S/

As these (like Sky+) have dual tuners, if you have a plain Sky dish you'll need a new quad LNB (the bit that sticks out the front) and to run an extra cable from it to where the box is. Probably £20-30 for the part and some cable, obviously more for someone to come along and do it for you.

Posted 1 year ago #
danti - Member

Thanks for the info Simon.

I think the recorder you mention is for Freesat (service offered by BBC and ITV which also includes some HD) whereas I have Freesat from Sky (subscription free service from Sky). Confusing or what eh! Sky's freesat service was around before the one offered by BBC/ITV.

I am interested in what you mention about LNB - what is this exactly?
Does it allow you to record one channel whilst watching another to cope with twin tuners of recorders?
Where can you buy these LNBs and what cabling would I need?

The other option I have is to get a new aerial installed but when I checked into this before buying Freesat I was quoted over £350 and they couldn't guarantee me getting an improved picture let alone all the channels available (living in a valley!).

Thanks

Posted 1 year ago #
johni - Member

Will this do it?
Humax Freesat HD Recorder

I have a Humax 9300T PVR and it is great. Will be getting a Freesat HD box when we move house and I'm "allowed" to get a new TV.

Posted 1 year ago #
danti - Member

Cheers johni
I've just been having a read on the BBC/ITV Freesat website and apparently you can plug a freesat box into a satellite dish so will look into that.
The only thing that put me off Humax PVRs is some of the horror stories you read on Amazon with them losing their settings etc
Some people seem really happy with them and some completely PO'd, I tried to find reviews for people in East Midlands and some of them didn't seem too happy with them.

Posted 1 year ago #
simon_g - Member

The LNB is the bit of the dish that picks up the signals - the dish itself focusses the signal on to the LNB.

The standard Sky LNB has a single output for a single box. If you get more boxes, or Sky+, they replace this with a "quad" LNB that has four outputs. Then additional cable is run for these. For Sky+ or any of the dual-tuner freesat boxes they need two separate feeds from the LNB.

Maplin, the DIY places, etc all sell the LNBs and satellite cable (it's essentially aerial coax cable but better quality and with proper shielding). Can be cheaper on ebay or online suppliers though. If you're happy being up a ladder it's pretty easy to swap over (making sure you don't move the dish) and run an extra cable, or else a local installer would be able to do it pretty cheaply.

"Freesat from Sky" is just Sky packaging up one of their boxes, plus the dish and installation (given they do a lot of it anyway) for a fixed fee. The service is the same, their hope is that you will want to subscribe to some channels later and they make it very easy for you to do so. The channels all come down from the same satellites.

Posted 1 year ago #
anjs - Member

You will need to order a free to air card from Sky and get them to pair it with the sky+ box if you go down the the sky route. the card should be free by the way.

Posted 1 year ago #
simon_g - Member

Sky+ with the free-to-air card will ONLY work as a plain, non-recording Sky box.

Posted 1 year ago #
datsunman - Member

anjs - My in-laws have just had to pay for a replacement FTA card, about twenty quid if I remember rightly, don't think you can get them for free any more.

On the other hand, if you don't want regional channels and can live without channel 5 you don't need a card at all. I've just put our old Sky+ box upstairs and it works fine cardless. No recording though.

Posted 1 year ago #

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